Queues formed on the Estonian-Russian border during the holidays

Queues have formed on the Estonian-Russian border during the holidays due to Estonia's lack of preparedness for the flow of people and a shortage of customs officers. This was reported to Izvestia on December 21 by Margarita, a Russian citizen living in Estonia.

She noted that she spent several hours in line due to the fact that only two employees worked at the border instead of the usual four.

"We rarely visit this border, but we often pass very quickly. <...> We drove up, waited for an hour, then launched a group of people, no more than 40 [people]. Then we stood for two more hours, waiting for them to let us into the border area itself," the resident shared.

It is noted that people had to stand at the checkpoint itself for about 40 minutes waiting for staff. According to the interlocutor, communication with passengers was neglected due to the fact that employees had to switch to Russian.

"It was obvious that they were responding in Russian with such disapproval and reluctance," the woman concluded.

On December 18, the Estonian authorities charged three Russian border guards with allegedly crossing the border. The incident is said to have increased concerns about national security in Estonia. Shortly after, the Russian Embassy in Tallinn announced that the incident would be resolved at the level of the border representatives of the two countries.

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